Bail refused for man charged in relation to Mid Ulster armed robberies
A 32-year-old man has appeared in court where he was charged in connection with the armed robberies which occurred in Mid Ulster on Thursday 30th January.
Patrick Wilson, from Churchill Park in Portadown appeared in Enniskillen Magistrates’ Court on Monday 3rd February, where he faced a total of five charges.
He was charged with three counts of robbery – at The Mace Ballyronan, McCrystals Filling Station in Ballinderry and Lynch’s SPAR Moor Road Coalisland – each of the counts relate to the theft of cash from each store, as well as cigarettes and scratchcards from The Mace Ballyronan.
He was further charged with taking conveyance without authority from an address in Portadown and the common assault of a male.
Two men were arrested following the shocking incidents, in which staff were threatened with a handgun, with the weapon placed against the heads of staff in two of the shops.
A blue Audi A6, believed to have been used by the suspects, was stolen from outside an address in Portadown and later found on fire at Drumcree Community Centre.
A number of searches were conducted by Mid Ulster detectives at properties in the Churchill Park area of Portadown and an electronic device was also seized for forensic examination.
A 50-year-old man was released on bail to allow for further police enquiries.
Wilson had bail refused by Enniskillen Magistrates’ Court and he was remanded into custody in Maghaberry, with his case adjourned until 19th February when he will appear at Dungannon Magistrates’ Court by way of video link.
Police enquiries are ongoing and detectives are appealing to anyone with information, or who may have captured CCTV, doorbell or dash cam footage of what happened, to contact 101, quoting reference number 201 30/01/25.
